After watching Amarius Mims it’s difficult to understand why this player isn’t higher on draft boards. This is a 6’7 340 lb wall, this guy is an absolute force and, in my view, a top 20 projection on Mims is too low. Here’s what I saw on tape from Amarius Mims that led me to make this type of claim on this player.
Strengths
Mims is one of those guys you want to lead the team out of the bus. The pure size of Mims is shocking. HE reminds me frame-wise of recent prospects Dawand Jones, and Evan Neal.
Where Mims impressed me was in his true 1 on 1 pass sets. Every team they played tried Mims with all different types of rushers, he saw speed, power, and finesse rushers, and none of them phased him. His composure in his sets was really impressive.
Another area of Mims game that caught my eye was his pure power, there’s a lot of talk this cycle about J.C. Latham’s pure strength (which I will cover soon), but Mims is right there with him in that department. When Mims gets his hands on you, there’s a good chance the play is over for you.
Mims anchor was impressive, the matchup Mims had the most success against was clearly against a power rusher. Even if Mims was sporadic with his hand placement and a defender got to his chest, he wasn’t going to be moved back. When Mims has his feet planted in the ground, good luck trying to run through him.
A nuanced skill Mims possesses that impressed me was his ability to redirect his man toward the help blocks he’s getting from the in-line tight end, or the offensive guard. Mims was able to hold off multiple potential pressure opportunities by guiding his man towards his help.
The last area Mims impressed me was his run blocking in the red zone, this is a player who can completely wash an entire defense line to one side of the field, leaving a gaping hole for the tail back on the other side. Mims was exceptionally good at this inside the 15 yard line.
Weaknesses
Mims isn’t the nimblest offensive tackle you’ll see, I’d say he’s a good athlete relative to size, but he can fall a step behind on blocks where he’s asked to climb to the second and third level.
Mims allowed a few pressures where he was late to pick up a stunt. As he gets into the NFL he’ll see exponentially more stunts as that’s a staple of modern defense in the national football league. Would like to see him recognize those stunts quicker as he moves up.
Mims had a few reps where he knew he’d be on an island against a speed rusher, and in an attempt to beat his assignment to their spot, Mims footwork would get kind of clunky, and he wouldn’t keep adequate distance between his feet while pass setting.
The last knock I’d have on Mims is that he’s a bit of a leaner, and why wouldn’t he be at that size? This only came back to bite him a few times as he’d come out of his stance leaning, and he’d lose instantly to an inside swim or a pull move. There was another example where Mims came out of his stance leaning and his eye level was not ideal, and he ended up whiffing on his block entirely. This is something he’ll need to clean up.
Projection and Comparison
Mims is a high-level athlete for his size, with an impressive level of refinement in his fundamentals. I believe Mims is a day 1 franchise Right Tackle who has the athletic ability to make the switch to the left side. Mims will be 21 when the 2024 NFL season begins leaving him lots of time to develop. I view Mims as the offensive lineman with the highest ceiling in this class. I have Mims as my OT3 and a potential top-12 selection. As for a player comp, I view Mims similarly to Jordan Mailata, a raw prospect whose size was striking, and whose athleticism was off the charts.